The Meaning of Magic
by Story Please
Summary: Mr. Evans has never seen the shabby, scrawny boy that his daughter has just pulled in through the back kitchen door. He needs answers, obviously. After all, any good father wants to make sure that his daughter is not being taken advantage of, right? There is far more than meets the eye when it comes to the scruffy boy named Severus, and Mr. Evans is determined to find out.


**The Meaning of Magic**

When Mr. Evans first saw the Snape boy...Severus, yes, that was his name...the only thing he could think of were the unwashed types that hung out near his workplace stealing things when they could. With long, dark hair and a silent, timid demeanor, Mr. Evans didn't even realize that Lily's new friend was a boy at first. He was more like a shadow in the vague shape of a child. The clothing was loose and hung on Severus' tiny frame, and it was obvious that the boy was malnourished. Still, his face was clean of smudges, and his hair was not matted, only greasy, so it was obvious that he was not some sort of homeless street urchin.

It was obvious that he was only _slightly_ better taken care of.

Mr. Evans had been worried about finding things missing that afternoon that his daughter had dragged the boy through their back kitchen door. But, rather than looking around with sharp eyes for things to steal, the boy seemed to huddle next to the wall on his toes as though afraid to touch anything at all. It was obvious how shabby and dirty his clothing was in the dazzling clean kitchen. Mrs. Evans had to cajole the boy to the table with the promise of tea and biscuits.

Still, Mr. Evans stayed, sitting in his chair by the toaster and looking at a newspaper he'd long ago finished reading. He was the man of the house, after all. Even though this wee bit of a boy wasn't much of a threat, he was still male and unknown. Even though neither was yet close to puberty, Mr. Evans had suddenly become painfully aware of how much of a girl his moody, assertive daughter truly was in her gingham dress and her hair in pigtails.

The boy was quiet, but he had manners, that much was certain. He said please and thank you, and helped wash up afterwards. Mr. Evans was surprised at how clean and graceful the boy's hands were- almost like a doll's.

Lily tittered excitedly, telling her mother all about Severus and suddenly, she'd said something about how he was just like she was and Mr. Evans felt himself grow very still and tense. He remembered the time that he went in to soothe Lily as a baby when she'd been crying in her crib and found her bobbing against the ceiling, wailing her lungs out. He remembered all of those times where Lily had gotten into something that was so high up that even he'd had to get a ladder to put it back. He remembered the time that Petunia had hit Lily and suddenly, though she was nowhere near an open flame, her hair had begun to smoke and catch fire. He remembered the long hushed discussions his wife had had with him at night when the girls were sleeping- how Lily was often kept satisfied and happy to the point of indulgence simply to keep her from doing...the _strange things_.

Mr. Evans knew about the _strange things_. His maiden aunt had similar abilities. She'd shown him a trick when he was very little where she had made a coin spin on its side in her palm just by pointing at it. He hadn't known until later that there'd been no trick to it- it was _real_. She'd been locked away when she'd started setting her ex-boyfriends on fire until she'd finally killed one of them. Though nobody could prove it, and it'd been done on a freezing cold night from behind a locked door, she'd confessed to having done it and was taken away to some place- a private psychiatric hospital named St. Mumbles or something like that. He didn't remember the exact details, but that was how his parents had whispered about the incident, and he'd hidden his secret hope of one day being able to make a coin spin on its own.

"I should like to have a talk with...Severus," Mr. Evans rumbled, trying to sound scary instead of unnerved. "Lily, you help your mother finish the washing up."

The boy's head jerked up as though he'd been struck but he nodded and followed Mr. Evans out into the hallway.

"Awww, do I have to?" Lily whined, sticking out her bottom lip.

"I'll be fine, Lily," Severus said, though he didn't look fine at all. In fact, he looked somewhat ill, as though he were about to vomit.

"It's ok, Sev," Lily said reassuringly, squeezing Severus on the shoulder, "My dad is a good person. He'll be nice, right?" Then she stared at her father with her hands on her hips as though he were the bad guy.

Mr. Evans gave Lily a weary look. "Yes, of course."

It didn't escape him how Severus had leaned into his daughter's touch like a cat being petted on its favorite spot.

Moments later, the door had been shut to keep out any feminine meddling and Mr. Evans stood tall, his arms crossed.

"So," he said, feeling suddenly very old and more like his own father than he'd ever want to admit, "How long have you known my daughter?"

Severus paused and stared at the floor, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Finally, after a long, awkward silence, he looked at Mr. Evans. "We go to school together, but...she helped me out at the playground when some of the bigger kids were picking on me...and...we became friends afterwards."

Mr. Evans frowned. "Did she...do _something_?"

Severus looked at Mr. Evans. His eyes seemed to grow darker in the shadowy hallway, though it could have been a trick of the low light level. "She...told them to leave me alone."

"And they just...did it?" Mr. Evans asked doubtfully.

"No...but they don't hit girls. So...they told me they'd just get me later," Severus replied with a shrug, as though daily beatings at the hands of older kids was some sort of daily occurrence for him. "I don't have money on me, and they know it, but they like being mean. It makes them feel strong."

Mr. Evans found himself taken aback. Here he was, thinking that this boy had roped Lily into a friendship and in reality, it couldn't be further from the truth. The boy didn't seem to be hiding anything- he just seemed uncomfortable and awkward.

"So, then," he said, clearing his throat, "Lily mentioned that you're...like she is."

"Oh, yes," Severus said, "Lily's abilities are...beautiful."

The way he said it was not sexual in any way, but Mr. Evans could see that the boy thought very highly of the _strange things_ , and this worried him.

"What...exactly, are they? Can you tell me?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Oh...well...it's what you think it is," Severus replied simply, looking straight into Mr. Evans' eyes steadily as though he was reading his mind.

"Magic," Mr. Evans said flatly.

"Yes," Severus replied. "Lily is special. And, if you let her, she'll be able to go to school to learn how to control her magic. My mum told me that if Muggles don't let their magical children attend school, it can sometimes be...disastrous."

"M...muggles?" Mr. Evans asked, confused.

"Non magical folks," Severus replied. "Look, I'm not the best person to explain this to you, but I will tell you this; it's natural, what she can do. Just like breathing. Some people are good at maths or at art, but Lily...she's good at magic."

"And you? Are you good at magic?" Mr. Evans asked, frowning.

"Not as good as I'd like, but I'll be better when I don't have to practice with my mother's wand. I'm better at making stuff...like...mixtures and things." Severus looked away, clearly embarrassed that he was not as good at magic as Lily.

"Well, then, I know that it doesn't need to be said, but don't you hurt my little girl," Mr. Evans said, feeling somewhat at a loss, and holding onto his original lecture idea.

"Of course not, Mr. Evans," Severus said, his mouth quirking upward into a tiny smirk, "But I doubt I could hurt her even if I were to try. And believe me, I do not want to even think about trying. She'd punch me into orbit."

That was when they both heard a snort of laughter from above them and looked up to find Lily floating against the ceiling of the darkened hallway, her hands over her mouth.

"Oops! I guess you caught me!" she giggled as she floated down to the ground.

Severus smiled and Mr. Evans shook his head. The boy was right. Lily had nothing to worry about when it came to him. Even though he was shabby and more than a little bit odd, Severus did not appear to have untoward intentions towards Lily. And, even though it hadn't been much, it had become quite clear to Mr. Evans that his aunt hadn't been the only one out there who could do the _strange things...magic_.

And, as he watched Lily take Severus by the hand and bring him into the front room to show him the television, he realized that Severus was right. Lily needed to learn how to control her magic. She needed a proper school with others like herself.

A giddy sensation filled his belly as he thought of it. Magic! _Real_ magic! His daughter could do magic!

Mr. Evans turned and walked slowly back to the kitchen. He and his wife would have much to discuss. And then there was the business of a wand. Where was he supposed to purchase one? There were more questions than answers, but he knew there would be time to figure all of it out.

His mind drifted back to the shabby clothing on Severus' back, and he wondered why the boy didn't just make his clothing look nicer with magic and he shook his head. This would never do.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Evans stomped down the stairs with a dusty box in hand.

"Eureka!" he shouted, startling Lily and Severus, who were watching a game show on the television.

"What is that, dad?" Lily asked as he blew the dust off the top of the box.

"Well, I figured that I wouldn't need any of this stuff any longer, so maybe your friend Severus might like it."

Mr. Evans opened the box and inside were a bunch of t-shirts and jeans as well as a couple button-up shirts and a pair or two of dressy slacks.

"Saved 'em as a young man thinking I'd give them to my son, but as you can see- daughters." Mr. Evans said shrugging as Lily squeaked happily and threw her arms around her father.

"So...they're..." Severus froze, his hand hovering over the opened box.

"Yours, if you want them," Mr. Evans said. "Sure, some of them are a bit big, but they're not as big as what you're wearing, and they're made of fairly good material, so you won't find any holes."

Severus just stared at the clothing with shock.

"C'mon Sev!" Lily said, pulling his arm, "you can go in the loo and try some of them on!"

"Come now, Lily," Mr. Evans said, standing up, "Don't force the lad to do anything he doesn't want. Besides, they do smell a bit of mothballs from being up there for so long."

"Thank you...Mr. Evans..." Severus said, finally looking up, his eyes shiny with unshed tears.

"Hey, you're the one helping me!" Mr. Evans replied, putting his hands on his hips. "I'd been letting those languish away in the attic for ages. Good riddance if you ask me!"

Severus took the box, dust and all, and wrapped his arms around it tightly, as though afraid to let it go.

"Thank you for everything," he said, "but I have to get home or my parents will...not like it."

Lily pouted for a few moments, but finally accepted it and hugged Severus goodbye. They all waved as Severus walked down the street until he disappeared around the corner and was gone.

But, long after the others had gone back inside, Mr. Evans sat out on the porch with his pipe, looking to where the boy had been and wondered just exactly what it meant to live in a world that allowed such a thing as magic to exist, and what, exactly, it would mean for everyone that he loved.


End file.
